Paris St-Germain expect to complete the signing of Angel di Maria this weekend with Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal ready to replace the unsettled Argentine with Barcelona forward Pedro Rodriguez. Despite Van Gaal claiming he had no idea as to the whereabouts of Di Maria, the £59.7million British record signing, following United’s 2-0 defeat by PSG in Chicago on Wednesday evening, it is understood that discussions between senior figures at both clubs have taken place while the former Real Madrid player has remained in Argentina awaiting a conclusion to negotiations.

Having initially offered just £28.5million for Di Maria, who had been due to link up with the United squad in California last Saturday before missing the flight to the United States, PSG are now prepared to pay in the region of £45million for the 27-year-old.